Report: Bergdahl letters explain why he walked away

Jun. 12, 2014
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In this file image taken from video obtained from Voice Of Jihad website, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, right, stands with a Taliban fighter in eastern Afghanistan. / AP

by John Bacon, USA TODAY

by John Bacon, USA TODAY

Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl wrote letters to his family while being held by a Taliban-aligned group in which he urged that no one judge him too quickly for his disappearance before his capture, The Daily Beast reported Thursday.

Bergdahl, who was taken prisoner in 2009 soon after he apparently walked away from his post in Afghanistan, is scheduled to return to the U.S. overnight Thursday. He has been kept at an Army hospital in Germany since the deal that won his release May 31.

The Daily Beast says the letters were delivered to Bergdahl's family through the International Red Cross. The news and opinion website said it obtained copies of the letters from sources in contact with the Taliban - and that Western officials authenticated the letters.

"Leadership was lacking, if not non-existent" at the Afghanistan post where he was assigned, Bergdahl says in a letter dated March 23, 2013. "The conditions were bad and looked to be getting worse for the men that where actuly (sic) the ones risking thier (sic) lives from attack."

He urged his family and the U.S. government to wait for all the evidence before judging him.

"The cercomstance (sic) showed signs of going from bad into a nightmare for the men in the field," he wrote. "Unexeptable (sic) conditions for the men working and risking life every moment outside the wire."

The Daily Beast said it also obtained copies of letters Bergdahl's parents, Robert and Jani Bergdahl, sent to their son's captors through religious leaders in Pakistan. Sources told the website the Bergdahls were coached in how to communicate in the letters, with a premium put on showing respect for local customs.

"Of course, we worry about his health and well being," they wrote in a November 2012 letter. "It has been almost 4 years since we embraced him. Is it possible to see him once again on video?"

The family received another video from them at the end of 2013.

Bergdahl, 28, was held captive by the Taliban-aligned Haqqani network. Five Taliban leaders held at the Guantanamo Bay military prison were freed in the deal to release him, and the Obama administration has faced criticism for arranging the swap.

Reports from his fellow soldiers and others that Bergdahl had become disillusioned by the war and walked away from his post before his capture added to the controversy.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, have argued that the men who were released are terrorists and a threat to Americans. They added that the deal could set a bad precedent and encourage enemies of the U.S. to kidnap Americans.

The Obama administration has dismissed the criticism, saying there was concern for Bergdahl's declining health. And POW swaps are standard practice as wars wind down, Obama has said.